7. The day is near when the Lord will sit in judgement; so be silent in his presence. The Lord is preparing to sacrifice his people and has invited enemies to plunder Judah.
8. “On that day of slaughter,” says the Lord, “I will punish the officials, the king's sons, and all who practise foreign customs.
9. I will punish all who worship like pagans and who steal and kill in order to fill their master's house with loot.
10. “On that day,” says the Lord, “you will hear the sound of crying at the Fish Gate in Jerusalem. You will hear wailing in the newer part of the city and a great crashing sound in the hills.
11. Wail and cry when you hear this, you that live in the lower part of the city, because all the merchants will be dead!
12. “At that time I will take a lamp and search Jerusalem. I will punish the people who are self-satisfied and confident, who say to themselves, ‘The Lord never does anything, one way or the other.’
13. Their wealth will be looted and their houses destroyed. They will never live in the houses they are building or drink wine from the vineyards they are planting.”